Then he who had recieved the one talent came and said, "Lord, i knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And i was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours." Matthew 25:24-25, NKJV.
as i already mentioned in the post My Gentle, Gentle Abba God, he was afraid because he believed his master to be a hard man. why? because he reaps where he has not sown, and gathered where he has not scattered seed....
i believe the basic impression this guy had was that if he was going to do all the work, and his master was just going to take it from him, what's the point? doesn't he get anything out of it? he's gonna sow, but his master will reap... he's gonna scatter the seeds, but his master will gather it... what's the point? he gets nothing out of it.
aaah, but it comes back to knowing his master. he is right, his master will reap where he has not sown, but when he does, he says: "well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. enter into the joy of your lord."
wow. it doesn't sound like his master will just take the fruit of his labour and leave him with no reward, does it?
but he evidently didn't understand that about his master.... he did not really know the true nature of the one who he called his master.
so he chose, rather than work and get nothing in return, to just bury the talent where it would be safe, and give it back when his master returned. he wanted nothing to do with it. into the dirt it went. and when his master returned....
But his lord answered and said to him, "You wicked and lazy servent, you knew that i reap where i have not sown, and gather where i have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming i would have recieved back my own with interest." Matthew 25:26-27, NKJV.
his master saw through the servants thinly veiled disgust with his master's ways, and saw him for what he was, wicked and lazy.
whaat! but he was afraid? c'mon, give him a little leeway, here....
think... what was his motivation for burying it rather than taking it to the bankers? it would have been as easy drop it in the bank as it was to drop it in the dirt, right?
becuase it shows the servents true heart towards his master - if he wasn't gonna get anything out of it, neither was his master. he wasn't going to honour his master even to the point of letting him reap interest on what he had not sown. he felt he deserved to reap the fruit of his sowing, that he deserved to be paid, he deserved reward....
so, this man, who did not know his master as being
1) a kind and benevolant master, and
2) a master who deserves to reap all that is ever sown...
...was he a servant at all? he claimed to be a servant of his master, but he did not even know his master. if he had the heart of a true servant, he would have taken his one talent and done as the man with two talents did - two talents aren't much either, right? but his heart was "it's not mine, it's my masters, and i will honor him and serve him"... that man was indeed a servant. this man was not.
so, "wicked and lazy servant" does not have the sting it once did, does it?
this is a description of those who are in the camp of God, but not of it.... the goats among the sheep. i will never have that heart of utter disregard for my Master, to never sow my talents and allow Him to reap as is His due... becuase i am a sheep. He has given me the heart of a sheep... i know my Master. i know His worth to reap all that i have sown. i know that i am not worthy of payment for my work.... and i know that my Benevolent, Kind Master will reward me far more than i can imagine.... and i am unworthy of it...
so i need not feel condemned by this passage of scripture. yes, i may bury my talents for a time... but knowing that i know my Master's voice, i will, as He eases my fear and brings healing to my heart, enable me to dig them up, and sow them to His glory and honour.
oh, my Merciful, Merciful Master.... i fall at Your feet. take all that i have sown, Lord! and help me to dig up what i have buried and sow it for Your glory as well. my Jesus, i love You.... oh how i love You so, my Benevolent, Kind Master Jesus.
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